Down 25-15 with 6:14 to play in the first half against the University of Maine (8-19, 4-11 America East) on Sunday, Binghamton University women’s basketball (10-18, 6-9 AE) was in jeopardy of losing on Senior Day.
But the Bearcats refused to let that happen, and the win will allow them to clinch no worse than the sixth seed heading into the America East Conference tournament.
After closing the first half on a 14-3 run to take a 29-28 lead at intermission, the Bearcats led wire-to-wire in the second half against the Black Bears, stretching their lead as wide as 15 points by taking a 68-53 advantage with 3:16 remaining in the game. Binghamton ultimately won the game 72-62. As it was Senior Day, the game marked the last time that Binghamton seniors Erica Carter, Darryll Peterson and Theodora Panteli will play a game at home as Bearcats, unless Binghamton hosts the America East Conference championship game. Emotions ran high among the three players, most notably Panteli, who shed tears after the game. Despite that, they knew that they had to bring their best effort against the Black Bears.
“They came out so strong that we had to focus on the game,” said Peterson. “We could not worry about Senior Day.”
Carter expressed sentiments similar to Peterson’s about the occasion.
“It got to the point that you don’t even worry about it and you’re trying to win the game,” said Carter. “It is an emotional day but it’s not the end; it’s the start of a new beginning.”
Senior Day did not go without milestones for the Bearcats. In shooting 6-for-11 from 3-point range, Carter broke the Binghamton school record for 3-pointers, which was 216, set by Bess Greenberg in 2001. Carter has connected on 218 3-pointers in her Bearcat career.
“I was trying to do what I can to win this game, just like I have done all year,” said Carter. “It was the last home game of the year so I thought it was a perfect day to do it.”
Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl had complimentary remarks regarding Carter’s performance.
“Congratulations to Erica,” said Scholl. “It shows how much she’s accomplished since she’s been here. I thought she did a nice job today and I thought the other players did a nice job of finding her when they went into that zone [defense]. That’s what she does, she’s a special player and we’re definitely going to miss her next year.”
Scholl was proud of the effort of her other two seniors, Peterson and Panteli, as well.
“Darryll has really come on in her past few games,” Scholl said. “She’s gotten a lot of confidence and we know what she can give us with rebounding, and playing defense is what she does really well. Dora [Panteli] has been our workhorse all year long; she does a lot of the dirty stuff. She’s so passionate about what she does. I don’t think you can find a better group of seniors.”
Records and Senior Day aside, Binghamton did trail by 10 points with 6:14 remaining in the first half against Maine. Scholl praised her team’s defensive effort for turning the tide.
“We were in a zone to begin with, and they were knocking down 3-point shots on us,” Scholl said. “We switched into man and I thought we really tightened things up defensively and played them well.”
Scholl was encouraged by her team’s offensive effort, as well, with the Bearcats’ 72 points equaling their highest total since Jan. 24. Binghamton had 14 assists on 30 field goals.
“We did a great job of distributing the basketball,” Scholl said. “When Maine went into man we did a nice job attacking the basket and they had trouble with that so we went into zone and found the open shooters.”
Sinead O’Reilly, a player who had yet to score in conference play this season, had a game worth noting for the Bearcats. In just 14 minutes of play, O’Reilly had 11 points and seven rebounds, and shot 5-of-5 from the field.
“Sinead did a fantastic job,” Scholl said of her sophomore forward. “I couldn’t have been more proud of her. She’s seen some time this year, but limited time, but came in tonight and played hard and used her minutes.”
Overall, Scholl was proud of her team’s effort in the final home game of the regular season.
“Our defense and our execution were good. Our defense starts our offense and I thought we did that tonight.”
With its win over Maine, Binghamton improves to 6-9 in conference play, clinching at least the sixth seed in the conference tournament. The Bearcats wrap up their season on Thursday at New Hampshire (8-19, 3-11 AE) in a game that will determine their seeding in the America East tournament.